Big Girl Undies

Hey yall ! Hope it’s been as beautiful a day for you as it has here … too wonderful for words.. I love spring .

Had to put on my big girl panties and make some tough decisions the last couple days …some of them aren’t real popular with the other folks that live here.. but so be it , reckon that’s why they pay me the big bucks, huh? I sold Larry’s BMW today.. it has set with a blown engine for 7 years now.. and no one cared about it, except when I made noises about getting rid of it.. then everyone wanted it, but I didn’t have the money to get Mama’s meds that she was out of nor the gas to take her to the doc tomorrow, which is totally and completely my own fault through mismanagement. And someone made me an offer and I sold it.. for green money. When he died, I was told that I had to grow balls, and that has been the hardest thing for me to do.. Life ain’t easy folks .. and I am learning the hard way that sentimental don’t pay the bills. I have 2 horses to give away to a good home also.. If anyone knows anyone that wants them. When I was a kid and wanted a saddle horse, Daddy would say, you shovel money in one end of them and out the other .. They’re a dead weight, we can’t afford one. He was right of course, but I have continued to justify them in my mind for years now, and I just can’t anymore.. they don’t contribute, and they consume the same amount of space that 12 sheep or 2 cows would.

My Daddy always said that his Daddy always said (whew) that there was more time wasted waitin’ on it to rain, than there ever was in not being able to work when it rained ! And that was today for sure.. between this blasted stomach bug that’s going around getting me last night, being on the verge of tears all morning, and the fact that I thought it was going to rain all day.. I didn’t get one dadblamed productive thing done today!

I did call a friend .. a very old and dear friend, whom I love very much.. and we talked for 3 hours on the phone. Becky is one of those rare and wonderful sister friends that it doesn’t matter how long you go between visits, you pick right back up where you left off. I talked with her about coming to live here, in community with us.. I don’t know what they will decide, and Mama and the kids will have to be ok with it too.. I just need a partner on this farm.. badly .. someone who cares and shares the dream of self sufficiency and sustainability, who loves to garden.. and doesn’t complain all the time ! Twenty long years ago, when I first met them, living in West Asheville, off the grid, self sufficiently.. before it was cool.. they were my inspiration. If they can’t do it .. I have faith that God will have someone else. At any rate, I know He will give me the solution, the way to keep doing this alone, if this is what I am supposed to be doing. So be it.

I don’t know if I told you that we lost over half of the last batch of chicks.. but we did ..When they came our Postmaster, Esther, said they stunk so badly that the mail truck driver had to roll the windows down in the truck to be able to stand the drive. When I unpacked them there were lots of dead ones! I’ve never had that happen with this company before.. and they continued to die over the following week.. It was so heartbreaking! Yesterday, I called the company, and they were going to send 183 new ones today, so they should be here tomorrow morning in the mail. I am so impressed with this company, Mt Healthy Hatchery in Ohio, we have used them for two years now and never had the first problem. Beautiful healthy chicks and I have never had even one DOA, which is pretty much unheard of in mailorder chicks. Now they have proven their customer service to me also.. I highly recommend them!

I am trying out a recipe for dish soap this week .. I will let you know how it goes.. I can’t stand greasy dishes, and I have never found a recipe I loved before.. soooo.. this one is on trial : ) Stay tuned.

I am also grinding oat flour to use in baking.. I would like to get away from so much wheat gluten in our diets, even non GMO wheat.. Stay tuned on that one too, and please if you have any non wheat recipes that you could pass along , I would love to try them ! I am using Teff, Quinoa and Amaranth flour on a regular basis now also, mixed in with wheat, because of the cost.

Are yall keeping up with the GMO issue ? I become more convinced daily that it’s a terrifying thing… more I think, than any of us are really aware of. Monsanto is a really scary company! Remember the commercial on PBS .. Archer Daniels Midland , supermarket to the world .. I never really realized what that meant ..

OK .. well .. daughter is home … and I should go feed something : ) Don’t forget to Love ! Nancy

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Published by Foxfire Holler

A fourth generation farm & fiber arts studio dedicated to heritage, sustainability, and the premise that all life is simple and connected.
50ish and learning to live with an autoimmune disease.
I whine a lot !
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6 thoughts on “Big Girl Undies”

So your comment made me finally look up Monsanto. They are sick. They are responsible for saccharin, they produced plastic, DDT, and Agent Orange. They have been one of Americas top ten chemical companies since the 40’s. This is not who I won’t making my food. I certainly don’t want them genetically altering my food with pesticides.

Hey, hugs to you. You are making tough decisions for sure, but your radar sounds good. Women who grow balls are never very popular, but
it is just because others are jealous knowing they couldn’t do as well. Sure wish I lived closer and could help you. I’m good at gardening and some of the animal work. JUst can’t leave now because of my friend here who is so ill. You have so much on your agenda. too bad you can’t “schedule” some people to help you on different days or diff. projects. JUst keeping up with your MaMa’s needs and the various kids would be enough for most people. then you add the farm, etc and WOW. Even an Amazon woman would be hard pressed to do it all. PS. Better to get rid of the BMW for some green, I’m sure there were sentimental ties, but really keep those in your heart and slap the people abt. you who are complaining. Or quit feeding them, if they get hungry they’ll concentrate on other things! Lot of good my cheap advice does. Love, Sandy

Nancy, being forced to ‘grow balls’ is such a painful, but truly powerful experience. But – anytime you need help, you’ve got six people right here who’d come on over. Feeding, harvesting, whatever. Some of the kids might not get a lot done but they like doing it. Love you Nancy!